AFTER THE ELIMINATION

Michael is the first to return to the house after the players send Maria home.  The rest of the players roll in and waste little time in reminding Michael how lucky he is to be there, since he wasted a good portion of the previous week.

POP CHALLENGE

The next day, Alison meets the group and announces the next Pop Challenge.  Immunity is up for grabs, along with three decisions that will affect the entire game.  The players have to run the Presidential Mile, grab a key card from the 100 on the board, and run back to Alison to try the key in the machine.  If it’s a green check, the team gets one point.  If it’s a red x, they have to try again.  First team to get three checks wins.

Stephanie’s working hard to win the challenge, lapping players in her quest to to get the three checks.  But the first player to get a green check is Melissa.  Orange and Pink Teams are nipping at the Red Team’s heels.   The momentum sticks and Red Team is the first to get the three green checks.   In addition to immunity, Melissa and Lance have three envelopes with penalties to distribute to the players of their choice.   They must decide:  game play or try and curry favor?

They opt for game play for two of the three decisions.   John receives the “no gym for a week” envelope.   Works in his favor as his knee injury keeps him in the pool for most of the time.   Red Team gives “no vote at elimination” to Michael, since the players were pretty harsh with him after the previous week’s elimination.   The 2 lbs penalty at the weigh in goes to Green Team.   Miggy and Migdalia are pissed.

CONFRONTATION WITH RED TEAM

Heads are about to explode!  The trainers are not happy when they learn about the results of the day’s Pop Challenge.  Bob notes how crazy it’s been in the house.   Jillian knows Miggy’s at the breaking point.   Time to confront Red Team, and again the trainers opt for the “tag team” approach.

Bob takes Melissa and Lance aside.  He doesn’t make any headway with them.  Melissa is upset that Bob called her a liar on national television.   Lance says he lost a lot of respect for Bob during the last weigh ins.  They insist Melissa is telling the truth.   Bob hesitates, then decides to let Jillian call the Red Team’s bluff.

Jillian asks Lance to come clean about the game play.   Lance refuses and says he’s not going to work with Jillian.  “Okay,” she says.  “Such is life.”    She trots over to tell Bob what happened – in front of everyone.   The teams split off, one of each pair goes to box with Jillian.  First up, Melissa.  She looks Jillian straight in the face and repeats that she’s not involved in game play.   Ridiculous!  Jillian’s only been doing this for 18 years and 8 seasons on the show.   No fooling the one who knows the science.   Jilllian looks straight at the camera and says, “She’s lying!”

Later, Melissa asks Lance to continue to work with Jillian.  He agrees.  She smiles, noting that she gets what she wants.  I hope it’s a good kick in the rear.

CHALLENGE

Hardhats on deck!  Each team has to hoist themselves one hundred feet in the air to the top of a crane.  And the prize is good – phone calls home for the winning team and the three other teams the winners choose.   Koli and Sam are channeling some kind of super human strength.  We hear a few catty remarks about steroids.   Jealous, Red Team?  It’s a photo finish, but the boys hold off Melissa and Lance for the win.  Koli and Sam’s hearts match their size.  They share the phone calls from home with Melissa and Lance (second place), Migdalia and Miggy (family birthday) and John (because he’s without family on campus).

TRAINER TIP

Jillian has a lo-cal treat to curb your sweet tooth.  Microwave an apple in a small bowl of water for 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

REWARD PHONE CALLS HOME

Gray Team is delighted to talk with family!  It’s the first time that Sam’s Dad has ever said how proud he is of his son.  Koli’s mom tells him she loves him and his aunt promises that she’ll never make fun of either guy for eating organic.

John’s wife tells him that their son is talking!  She puts baby Nicholas on to say hi to Dad.

Lance and Melissa are both excited and sad to speak with their kids.  They really miss them!

Both members of the Green feel like they want to go home.  Miggy speaks to her fiance who’s lost 20 lbs!  Migdalia’s daughter says, “Where are you Mommy?”  Her husband tells her to hang in there.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

It’s plug time!  Fill the Brita and head over to Subway.   Bob coaches the players on how to fill up with lean protein and healthy carbs.   Good thing they replenished their energy reserves.    Last Chance Workout moves out of the gym into the great outdoors!

Bob has hill duty.  The teams hike up the mountain, alternating walking with running intervals.   That hill is steep!  It’s John’s first official Last Chance Workout and he’s glad to be with the group.   Daris is running like a machine!  Just when the players reach the top and think they’re done for the day, Jillian’s waiting for them.  With kettlebells.  Wheelbarrows.  And rocks!   Jillian’s gleeful as she pounds the calories out of the players.  She taunts Koli and Sam as they try to push themselves up the hill in the wheelbarrow.   “It can’t be done,” she says.   The Gray Team proves her wrong.

WEIGH IN

Ali reviews the Red Team’s escapades for the week:  John couldn’t go to the gym, Michael can’t vote at elmination and the Green Team has a 2 lbs disadvantage.  Melissa and Lance stand by their decisions as Green Team fumes over the game play strategy.   With immunity, Red Team kicks off the weigh in.  Jillian is absolutely sure that “peer pressure” will cure Melissa’s amazing struggle to lose weight on campus.   And what have we learned thus far?  Don’t.  Doubt.  Miss Jill!

• Melissa – 11 lbs
• Lance – 6 lbs
• Michael – 15  lbs
• Andrea – 5 lbs
• Darrell – 10
• Cheryl – 6 lbs
• Daris – 6 lbs
• Ashley – 7 lbs
• Sherry – 4 lbs
• John – 10 lbs
• Sam – 14 lbs
• Koli – 12 lbs
• Stephanie – 6 lbs
• Migdalia – 5 lbs
• Miggy – 1 lbs
  

The high points:  Michael, Sam, Koli and John lose double digits; Cheryl and Daris hit milestones, dropping below 200 and 300 respectively.

The low point:  Melissa’s smirking response to Green’s less than impressive weight loss.   She actually says out loud, “Ali, just so we’re clear, 2 lbs wouldn’t have made a difference here.”

Migdalia starts to cry and Miggy instantly admonishes her, telling her to stop.  Jillian points out the inherent sadness in this command.  The Green Team is constantly swallowing their emotions, refusing to show stress to anyone.

The pre-elimination conference rapidly goes downhill.  Migdalia flat out says she’ll make it easy for the group.  Someone has to go home.  Pick her.  Melissa, not content to let it play out without drama, cautions the group to remember that the majority of attitude has come from Miggy.

ELIMINATION

The group is clearly conflicted.   I can’t remember another elimination like this one.  The two up for elimination are ARGUING and talking trash before the voting is complete.   Last season, Rebecca and Rudy went at it but that was after she had been eliminated.    The players refuse to honor Green’s request to go lockstep for Migdalia, with Red, Gray and Brown voting for Miggy.   Ultimately, the majority of votes go to Migdalia.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Startling to hear Migdalia say she’s opened up and learned to deal with her emotions during the final interview at the ranch!  After a brief period of uncertainty at home, Migdalia gets back on track.

NEXT WEEK

They’re baaaaaaack!  After battling it out at home for 30 days, who will get to return to the ranch – the Blue or Yellow team?

FLASHBACK

Pasty, gray images as the contestants recall the last three months.  It’s as if the death knell is sounding!  Slowly the images change from torture in the gym (Jillian:  “Rudy, it’s never going to stop until you die!”)  to the ever-smaller players hoisting weights (and trainers) they struggled to move during the first few weeks.  They’ve lost pounds and gained strength, both physically and mentally.  The achievement is amazing.

GOING GOING GONE

Ali surprises the fab four by telling them they’re going home for 60 days.  They’ll have to face the same things that got them to the ranch in the first place.  Their only support: the lessons they’ve learned from Bob and Jillian.   After two months, they’ll return to the ranch to face the scale one last time before the finale.

The limos drop them off at home and reality sets in.   Rudy’s missed his family and is grateful to his wife for holding it together while he’s been away.  But he’s worried that he won’t be able to mix family life with his rigorous diet and exercise schedule.  Danny thanks his wife for her support and tells family that he wants to renew their vows.   Liz remembers how she threw a fit to go home the first week.  But every week it got easier.   This version of Liz is very different than the one who left family behind 12 weeks ago.   She’s made changes and she’s expecting her family to do the same, especially her husband.   Amanda’s broken the pattern of giving up when things got difficult.  She hopes her friends and family will be able to see her as a changed person.

Watching the players trying to integrate into their previous lives is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.  Eventually with a little time, the pieces all fit together.   Rudy, Danny and Amanda settle in more easily than Liz.  She and her husband are uncomfortable discussing her journey at the ranch.   As Liz herself admits, they have had difficulties in their marriage, leading to bitterness and resentment on both sides.  Feels as if we’re eavesdropping on marriage counseling!

SPECIAL DELIVERY

The players receive video messages from Bob and Jillian, asking them to embrace the people they’ve become.  Neither of the trainers ever want to see the individuals they met at the ranch on Day 1 again.  Instead, they ask Liz, Rudy, Amanda and Danny to live life fully and with happiness…without losing sight of themselves.   The trainers follow up with a phone call, informing each contestant they’ll be running a marathon!  Surprise factor seems to be wearing off here.  Wonder if the Season 9 contestants will do a triathlon!

AT HOME VISITS

We’ve grumbled quite a bit on Twitter each Tuesday night about the insufferable amounts of product plugs this season.   The only time I thought it worked seamlessly and seemed completely appropriate was tonight when Danny’s kids were playing The Biggest Loser game No stilted setup or dialog,  just kids having fun while exercising.  So darn it, I’ll take the cue and plug it myself!

Curtis Stone makes good on the last week’s prize and teaches Danny’s family how to make lighten up favorite recipes.  He revamps a classic potato skins dish by stuffing the skins with turkey vegetable chili.  MMMMmmm!   The trainers are also on the move, sneaking up on the players at home.   Bob goes one-on-one with Rudy and Amanda, while Jillian does mini family interventions with Liz and Danny (a pretty good promo for her show actually).   Everybody agrees that it’s stressful to be home, but the trainers keep the players on course with helpful tips.

RACE DAY

Ali meets the players at the starting line to wish them luck.  She also tells them that they have a chance to pay it forward.  Each player who finishes will receive $10,000 to donate to the charity of his/her choice.   The starting gun fires and the players start running.   Rudy and Amanda settle into a comfortable pace, each running alone.  Danny and Liz decide that teamwork got them to this point – and teamwork will carry them through to the finish line.

Motivation comes in the form of running partners.  Tara Costa surprises the Brown Team and Liz is overjoyed, telling Tara that she watched her run the marathon last season!  The trio is later joined by Danny’s wife and Liz’s husband, and another former Brown Team member, Season 7’s Mike Morelli.  Meanwhile, Dina joins her former Blue Team partner at the halfway point.  Amanda scoops up her friend Brian around mile 15.  Everyone keeps running (or walking/jogging), despite the serious pain they’re all feeling…knees, hips, everywhere!  Tara moves up to run with Amanda, giving her small goals – “walk to the post, then run.”    Rudy puts it best:  “Who puts the finish line 26.2 miles away from the starting line?!”  Mile 25 has significance – they’ve been there before on Day 1!  It was the first mile they ran.  Now it’s the last.

One by one, they roll through the finish line. Rudy’s first, followed by Amanda, then Danny and Liz cement their partnership by finishing together.  No time to savor the achievement; they’ve got one last weigh in!

WEIGH-IN

Ali outlines the ground rules – the two players with the highest percentage of weight loss automatically make it to the finale.  The last two will ask America to decide which one will compete for the grand prize.  The announcement will be made live at the finale.

• Liz, 16 lbs
• Amanda, 16 lbs
• Danny, 54 lbs ASTONISHING!
• Rudy, 43 lbs WOW!

America will decide between Amanda and Liz.

NEXT WEEK

The live 2- hour finale!

Okay, it’s taken me a bit longer to do this recap than I originally promised.  How dare life interfere with my blogging?! :0)

I’ve only been watching The Biggest Loser regularly since Season 3.  (Yes, the only season without Jillian!  I caught up quickly so by the Season 4 premiere, I had a pretty good idea who was on that motorcycle.) And as far as I can remember,  there have been two basic constants throughout the show:  The Week 2 Curse and Weekly Elimination.

WEEK 2

Safe to say that viewers, players and trainers have grown to detest Week 2.  Traditionally, contestants pull double-digit weight loss numbers during Week 1…only to lose single digits, zero weight or in fact gain pounds during Week 2.  So bad enough to have that hanging over their heads.   Week 2 starts with a flashback to what happened after Alexandra was eliminated.  Alison Sweeney tells the team that if they can collectively lose 150 pounds, NO ONE goes home this week.  If they fall short, two people go home.  (Aside from a few Couples episodes, I think Pam and Brian were the only double elimination during Season 3)

Initially, the players are optimistic.  Plus Coach Mo gives them a great pep talk back at the ranch and Julio thanks the group for keeping him for another week.  Then reality starts to sink in.  Tracey is still in the hospital and if she gets out, she’s definitely limited in terms of exercise.  That leaves 15 players, meaning an average of 10 lbs each.  Bob and Jillian are immediately cautious when they hear about the challenge.  My heart sank as I saw all the pictures of previous players losing little or no weight…or worse gaining, like LT did in Season 6.   So the trainers decide to meet the challenge head on by giving everyone critical pointers on the eating front, then beating the crap out of the players in the gym.  They split the group.

Personally, I think one of the reasons that Jillian has always had the winning advantage is that she truly has mastered not only their metabolismsbut also what she calls the universal truth calculation:  calories in vs. calories out.  She explains the ins and outs of what they need to put in their body, when and how much.

Meanwhile, the other group head to the gym with Bob.  Lots of anxiety and stress as they start the workout.  Shay voices what a lot of the others, even the trainers, are noticing.  Julio seems to be slacking off and he doesn’t do himself any favors.  At this point, he should be showing an attitude of gratitude for even being there another week!

Coach Mo gets a chance to visit Tracey, the other part of the Purple Team,  in the hospital.  He is exactly the calming, joyful presence she needed to see.  It’s a little scary to be reminded of what happened during that first day on the beach.  And poor Tracey – she wasn’t sure if she was actually going to join the game again.   But, she gets the clearance to head back to the ranch and put on that purple shirt.  Nice to see her beaming from ear to ear.

CHALLENGE 1

Alison announces that there’s a way to lower the 150 lb number that needs to be lost.  Pop quiz time!  But seriously, who can concentrate when the teacher is none other than Aussie chef Curtis Stone?!  The accent.  The blonde hair and twinkly eyes.  But I digress.  Curtis gives the group a nutritional tutorial on portion control,hidden calories in sugar and usually healthy foods like salad; then if the group answers 5 out of 8 questions correctly, they only have to lose 135 pounds.   I thought the best part of this segment, aside from Curtis, was Sean professing his undying love for soda.  He was drinking 2 liters each day!  Seeing that amount translated into actual sugar was a bit startling.  Yick.

CHALLENGE 2

The team ends up getting the 15 lb advantage, so Alison introduces the next challenge. 20 lbs at stake! Abby made me laugh when she says they KNOW they’re getting wet.   And she was right!  The challenge involved more teamwork, water and a whole lot of balance.  The group had to to cross a baseball diamond-style array of planks over water, with each plank getting narrower.  First plank = 5 lbs off the weight to lose.  Second plank = another 5 lbs.  Third plank = phone calls home!!!  Fourth plank or home base = 10lbs.   Once someone falls, the challenge is over for everyone.

Can you imagine the stress?  No one wants to be that first person in the water.  Clumsy by nature, I can’t picture myself making it past the first plank.   Everyone’s freaking out, but the group hangs together and makes it past the third beam.   They are overjoyed knowing they’ll be able to call home!   Coach Mo reminds them that they’re still not done…10 lbs are still at stake.   Energy still high, the team makes it over the fourth plank.   Only 115 lbs to lose for the week!

REWARD

Emotionally, I find this season to be a constant tug on my heartstrings.  And we’re only in Week 2!  The BL fans on Twitter completely lost it during the family phone calls.  The players are crying, the fans are crying.  Everyone needs Kleenex.  Badly.  Especially when Abby tells her parents she climbed a mountain with two little butterflies alongside her.  These contestants collectively have more pain than we’ve really seen in previous seasons.   They’ve already cried enough tears on the ranch to last a lifetime.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Jillian and Bob pull out all the stops for the last chance workout.  Jillian challenges Rudy to a tug-o-war and can barely keep her footing.  Bob tells us that it’s him and Jillian vs. all of the players, and he jumps in to help Jillian.  Rudy’s blue shirt is drenched, but he emerges victorious against the trainers.  As Jillian says, beating them up  at the gym is a truth serum.  Everything comes out.  Shay dissolves in tears and tells Bob that she hasn’t been happy for 30 years.  3 DECADES!!!  Bob assures her that he’ll help her find her happiness.  He also reminds her not to let the chaos take over.

WEIGH-IN

Finally…time for the weigh-in!  115 is not as hard as 150 but the trainers both think it’s a really difficult goal for week 2.   Pink Team starts.  Rebecca loses 6 and Amanda loses 4…second week in a row.   She’s not thrilled.  Purple Team pulls AMAZING numbers, 10 for Tracey and 9 for Coach Mo, who pulled a 19 all by himself in the first week.  The almost double digits continue with Antoine and Sean.  Red Team loses 19 lbs too!  Green Team Allen and Abby kick it up a notch by losing 22 lbs.  Liz and Danny also lose 22 lbs for the Brown Team.  Holy crap!  Week 3 might end up being the new cursed week if the numbers continue.   Blue team weighs in – Rudy takes off 14 lbs while Dina loses 8.

Next up is Julio!  Everyone’s wondering what his number will be.   The producers are really driving the story this season with clever editing.  The last pre-commercial shot is Antoine mouthing, “shiiiiiii…”  We come back – what a fakeout.  Julio sheds 19 lbs as the sole remaining member of the Black Team!

So the entire team is safe.  With only the Orange Team left to weigh in, the contestants shoot for making the original goal of 150 lbs.   Daniel loses 7 and Shay, an amazing16 lbs, clearly telling Week 2 where to shove it.  :0)

WRAP UP

Summary – a successful obliteration of the Week 2 curse and everyone stays on the ranch!  More strong editing from producers, continuing the emotional rollercoaster and keeping us guessing on the contestants.  Looking ahead, I hope we see more of Liz next week.  She’s the only player I feel we don’t really know all that well.  Of course, I have to ask.  Is that deliberate on the part of the producers?!  Maybe she’s the sleeper, just like Helen on Season 7.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BIGGEST LOSER

Crazy begins anew on Week 3.  The players can choose to train by themselves or with the trainers, with the potential outcome being control of the weigh in.  I can hear Jillian and Bob swearing from here!